The Amy Effect
by notjaneausten
Summary: Another version of how things might have gone if Sheldon had been more than a little interested in Amy as a potential girlfriend from the moment that they first met. Disclaimer: All characters remain the property of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.
1. Chapter 1

"Mother…please, it's time for us to stop with these silly little set ups. Yes, I know we had an agreement but I'm getting tired of being the one that is the only person that turns up. No, this one's late as well…uh-huh, four thirty and it's now…four forty, okay I'll call you this evening…bye." Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler snapped her phone shut and started to gather up the newspaper that she had been reading whilst waiting for her blind date to arrive. She looked up as the door to the coffee shop was suddenly pulled open and a tall, lean gentleman stepped inside, calling out to someone over his shoulder.

"I told you to continue straight on Los Robles and not take the shortcut…we're now approximately six minutes late and you know how much I despise being thrown off schedule."

"Cool your jets a little, we're only a little late…" A shorter man wearing skin tight jeans and a polo shirt followed the first man into the shop and they were followed by a third, a quieter man with lightly caramel coloured skin. All three men hovered by the display of coffee machines and glanced around the nearly empty tables.

"A little late? How on earth can six minutes be described as being a little late? That's like saying the world is only a little round or…"

"Someone being described as only a little bit dead. Did you know that it would have only taken six minutes for the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs to create an extinction level event?" A low feminine voice coming from the lone occupant of the table area had Sheldon whirling around in surprise.

"Really, six minutes?"

"Yes, and we all know how things changed in that short space of time." The owner of the voice turned out to be a bespectacled brunette who was sitting at a table in the corner, folding her newspaper into neat thirds.

"Fascinating." Sheldon crossed over to the brunette and pulled up a chair. "Tell me, what are your thoughts on what species might have survived the catastrophe?"

"Well, we know for a fact that the asteroid hit land mass…we've seen evidence of the craters left behind, I've often thought that the ocean creatures would have had the best chance of survival. We've seen through evolution that animals living in the sea might have had legs at some stage and it makes sense that over time they would have adapted to their new environment." The woman suddenly stopped talking and pressed a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, my work sometimes gets the better of me…I'm a neurobiologist and I tend to forget that not everyone sees the world in the same way that I do."

"Oh, don't apologise! It's very refreshing to meet someone that is so honest in their opinion." The man waved Amy's apology away and held out a hand. "Hello, my name is Doctor Sheldon Lee Cooper and it's a pleasure to meet you." Amy leant forward to accept his proffered hand, and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler and I think we were supposed to meet for coffee today."

"You're here from the dating site? Really?" Sheldon propped his chin in his raised hand and quirked his eyebrow up in Amy's direction. She nodded and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Yes, my Mother bribed me into joining the site in a fruitful wish to see me pair bonded with a like- minded individual. I informed her today that this was to be the last time though…my previous encounters have not turned out so well; actually you were the only one that I've actually managed to hold a sensible conversation with and that was before we had even been introduced!" Sheldon frowned a little at the thought of this dazzling creature meeting up with other men, and shook his head slightly to clear it of the strange idea…surely he couldn't be feeling jealousy?

"Doctor Cooper? Are you well?" Amy's concerned voice broke through Sheldon's daze and he blinked rapidly in her direction, before nodding slightly.

"Thank you, I am quite well. May I purchase you a refreshment?"

"Um, perhaps a cup of herbal tea? I had a tepid water before you arrived, but I think I can risk the tea here."

"Which flavour would you like? I believe they have a particularly lovely blend of white ginger here that is quite revitalising." Sheldon rose from the table and Amy nodded her agreement. "Very well." Amy watched as he placed the order at the counter and then turned to murmur something to the two gentlemen that had accompanied him into the coffee shop. The shorter of the two men checked his wristwatch and then gestured to a table outside. Sheldon amended his order to include two large cappuccino's and handed them over, before picking up the tea cups and carrying them back over to the table. "I have to confess that I was blackmailed into coming here today as well. My friends threatened me by hiding a dirty sock in my apartment and refused to tell me where it was hidden until I agreed to meet with you." Sheldon shuddered as he remembered Raj pulling the sock out from where he had hidden it under the cushion of Leonard's armchair and Amy smiled faintly in response.

"I share your aversion to soiled hosiery…It must have been horrendous, I trust you carried out a thorough decontamination of your apartment afterwards?"

"Oh, indeed. I sprayed the whole place with disinfectant and then washed the armchair covers in Purell." Sheldon smiled in satisfaction and Amy returned his enthusiasm with a small smile.

"I saw from your profile that you are a physicist over at Caltech…in what specialism?"

"Theoretical particle physics…my friend Raj outside is an astrophysicist and the other man with him is my friend, Howard who is an aeronautical engineer."

"So just a Master's then, no doctorate?"

"Quite." Sheldon nodded again and shared another smile with Amy, feeling delighted that he'd met someone so completely on his own wavelength. "This really is turning out to be a most delightful afternoon."

"Yes, very pleasant." Amy agreed, sipping her tea and enjoying the company immensely. Sheldon glanced over at her again whilst she had her head bent over her cup and admired the way that the overhead light bounced off her straight and shiny hair. _Good Lord, Sheldon, get a grip on yourself! _ He inwardly berated himself for noticing something like that and shifted slightly in his seat. Amy glanced over at him and then down at her watch.

"I really ought to be getting home soon, it's very nearly six o'clock and I tend to do my laundry on a Saturday night."

"Really? Me, too…only I do mine around eight fifteen." Sheldon smiled over at Amy again, glad that they had yet another thing in common. "Doctor Fowler, I wonder whether we might exchange phone numbers. I'd like to continue our conversation another time if that meets with your approval?"

"I'd like that. I have a note pad in my purse." Amy bent down to retrieve a small leather bound notebook from her purse and clicked her pen open. She scrawled a few lines on the page and tore it off. "There's my phone number, e-mail address and Skype details." She handed the page over to Sheldon who quickly scanned it before folding it up to slip it inside his wallet.

"Do you want mine?"

"Oh…yes, of course." Amy flushed a little, she had half expected it to be an empty promise of future communication – offered out of politeness, and had passed over her details out of the same. It appeared she was wrong, and Sheldon did want to keep in contact. Amy slid the pad over the table and Sheldon quickly wrote down his details.

"My cell, home phone, work e-mail, personal e-mail, Skype details, Twitter and Facebook account details…I really do want to converse with you again, Doctor Fowler."

"That would be nice, Doctor Cooper."

"Please, call me Sheldon."

"Amy."

"Very well…Amy…" Sheldon's voice deepened slightly as he called her by her first name and Amy felt her tummy flip over in reaction to the sound of his slight twang rolling over her name. "I'll call you soon."

"That would be nice…Sheldon." Amy rose from the table and placed her notebook back into her purse, strapping it crosswise over her chest. "It was lovely to meet you."

"And you, goodbye for now…Amy." Sheldon rose from his seat and held out his hand.

"Goodbye, Sheldon." Amy clasped his hand for a moment before slowly pulling away and twirling around to quickly leave. Sheldon stood with his hand still outstretched for a moment, watching her stride confidently along the sidewalk.

"Sheldon? Sheldon? Are you okay?" Raj's musical tone had Sheldon retracting his hand and sitting back down in his seat.

"I don't really know…" Sheldon replied quietly, rubbing a hand against his abdomen where he felt a slight ache twisting his stomach.

"How did it go?" Howard slid into Amy's abandoned seat and leant forward, eager for details.

"It was fine, she was a delight…" Sheldon didn't have words to describe just how delightful he had found Amy's companionship, he couldn't quite explain it to himself let alone to anyone else.

"Are you going to see her again?" Raj enquired softly, watching the expressions flit across Sheldon's face.

"We've exchanged contact details…so, yes probably." Sheldon revealed and checked his wallet for the page torn from Amy's book, with his eidetic memory he no longer needed the written details but for some reason it seemed important to have the physical reminder.

"That's good, she seemed to enjoy your company as much as you enjoyed hers…it will be nice for you to have someone that understands you."

"Yes, I think that Amy does understand me, I don't know how exactly; we were only sitting here for a few minutes after all."

"Sheldon, you were here for the best part of one and a half hours…Amy didn't leave until just after six." Howard leant forward and tapped his watch, Sheldon blinked hard.

"Really? It didn't seem that long at all…I'd best get back to the apartment and start my laundry."

"Okay, did Amy say why she had to rush off like that?"

"She needs to go home to attend to her laundry duties too." Sheldon smiled softly at the thought and Raj thought that he'd never seen his friend look so relaxed before. "Come on, Howard…I need to get home so that I can get my laundry finished early so that I can call Amy before it gets too late." Sheldon suddenly rose up from the table and shooed his friends out of the coffee shop and towards Howard's car.

"What have we done?" Howard muttered to Raj as they walked quickly in order to catch up with Sheldon's long strides.

"I think it could be the start of something beautiful." Raj beamed happily over at Howard, who just shook his head in bemusement; thinking that Amy must be as wacky as Sheldon if she agreed to see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard let himself back in the apartment he shared with Sheldon and glanced around the empty living room. There was no sign of his roommate and he thought that he must still be occupied with his laundry duties; just as Leonard sank down onto the couch, Sheldon appeared from his bedroom.

"Oh, hello Leonard. I thought you were out with Penny this evening?"

"It didn't quite work out as well as I'd hoped; looks like we're just back to being friends again." Leonard pulled a cushion over to his end of the couch and tucked it behind his head, leaning back against the puffy seat.

"My sympathies." Sheldon offered his sincere regrets and Leonard opened one eye warily, it was unlike Sheldon to sound so genuine and Leonard was slightly concerned.

"You okay, buddy? You don't seem yourself tonight?"

"Me? Oh, I couldn't be better." Sheldon nodded as he glanced down at his watch, checking the time for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"You sure? I mean, it's gone eight and you haven't even started your laundry…"

"I completed it a little earlier than usual tonight." Sheldon waved his hand in the air, dismissing the notion that he would have neglected his usual duties. Leonard sat up on the couch, staring at his friend in amazement.

"You did it early? Sheldon, you never do your laundry early. I've been living with you for over seven years and you've always started your laundry at eight-fifteen and returned at nine-forty five."

"I just did it early tonight, I was out with Howard and Raj and when I got back decided to do it early." Sheldon twitched restlessly on his spot and glanced at his watch again, sighing heavily.

"Sheldon, come on; I know when something is bothering you. What's the matter?" Leonard turned to face his friend and Sheldon gave in.

"I have a question for you and I don't want you jumping to any wild conclusions."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Leonard, how long should you wait before contacting someone after you've first met them?"

"It depends…"

"On what exactly?"

"How well we got along, whether I'd be doing it out of politeness or whether I genuinely wanted to talk to them again."

"Extremely well and the latter." Sheldon replied immediately and Leonard hid a smile.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Sheldon?"

"When I was out earlier with Howard and Raj we went to a coffee shop…Raj bribed me into meeting a blind date…" Sheldon confessed slowly and Leonard slapped his arm.

"Shut up! How on earth did they manage to get you to agree to that?"

"Raj hid a dirty sock in the apartment and refused to reveal the location until I agreed to go along. We were late arriving at the coffee shop and things didn't look too good, until this fascinating woman started up a conversation about how it only took six minutes for the dinosaurs to be wiped out by an asteroid falling to earth. Leonard, I have never met anyone quite like her before in my life…"

"Go on, what was her name?"

"Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler…" Sheldon whispered her name almost reverently and his fingers reached into his wallet to pluck out the slip of paper containing her contact details. "We talked for over an hour, and the most amazing part…she was my blind date!"

"Wow…she didn't leave when you turned up late?"

"No, she was about to go when we arrived, I was chastising Howard for taking the incorrect route and making us six minutes late…"

"Oh, that's when she chipped in with the comment about the dinosaurs. So, what was she like?" Leonard leant forward, curious to hear more about the woman that had managed to capture Sheldon's attention; he'd never seen Sheldon so taken with someone before.

"Umm…she's a neurobiologist over at UCLA; she joined the dating site after being forced into it by her Mother and I was the only person that she's been able to have an actual conversation with. She has soft, straight brown hair that she wears clipped back with a barrette over one ear; green eyes and glasses. She's only about five feet tall and she favours plaid shirts and cardigans over sensible knee length skirts."

"That's a lot of detail for someone you've only talked to for an hour. So, you want to talk to her again but you don't know when to contact her?"

"Yes, we exchanged details and both had to return to complete our laundry…is it too soon to contact her this evening?"

"I don't think so, you could start off with a quick text saying that it was nice to meet her and you hope to do it again soon…something simple, leaving the path of communication open."

"Okay." Sheldon reached for his phone and started composing a message.

**Amy, I just wanted to say again how pleasant it was conversing with you this afternoon and hope to do it again very soon. Dr Sheldon L Cooper**

"How's that? Too needy?" Sheldon showed the screen to Leonard, who scanned it over and nodded his approval.

"No, that's fine."

"Okay, sending it now." Sheldon sent the message and held his phone tightly in his hand as he waited anxiously for a response. Within a few seconds his phone vibrated and his screen flashed up with an incoming message. He cautiously opened it and then a wide smile beamed across his face.

**Sheldon, I had a lovely time and would not be averse to continuing our conversation over Skype this evening. I have finished my laundry duties ahead of schedule and await your call. Amy Farrah Fowler**

Sheldon showed the message to Leonard and they shared a grin. Sheldon jumped up from the couch and grabbed his laptop.

"If you will excuse me, Leonard…I have a very important call to make to my new friend, Amy Farrah Fowler."

"Sure, buddy…I'm going to order take out shortly; you feel like Chinese again?"

"Tangerine chicken please." Sheldon accepted Leonard's offer and headed off eagerly to his room. Leonard watched as Sheldon disappeared around the corner and then reached over for the remote control, with Sheldon out of the way he might be able to get a few episodes of 'Babylon 5' watched in peace – Sheldon hated the series and Leonard was only allowed to watch it whenever Sheldon was otherwise occupied.

Ten minutes later, Leonard was engrossed in the drama unfolding on the screen when the sound of Sheldon's breathy laughter came drifting down the corridor. Leonard looked up as Sheldon appeared, chatting away to the screen and carrying it into the living room.

"Amy, this is my friend and roommate, Leonard. Leonard is a fellow physicist at Caltech, his field is experimental physics. Leonard, this is my new friend Amy." Sheldon turned the screen so that his two friends could exchange greetings. Leonard paused the DVD and waved at the screen, Amy smiled widely and gave him a wave in return. Sheldon set the laptop down on the coffee table and swivelled on his seat to address Leonard. "Leonard, I have extended the invitation for Amy to join us for dinner this evening, I hope that you don't mind?"

"No, that's fine…I haven't called in the order just yet anyway."

"Goody! Amy, you have our address in your phone?"

"I do, if you call in the order; I will drive over collecting it on the way."

"Um…" Leonard was debating whether to tell Amy of Sheldon's preference for the extra hot mustard and particular brand of Soy sauce, only for Amy to continue to speak.

"I hope you don't mind if I bring my own mustard and Soy sauce? I prefer the…"

"Extra hot and low sodium?" Sheldon broke in hopefully and Amy nodded, grinning widely.

"Exactly, it is uncanny how alike we are. Text me once the order is placed and I'll head over."

"Okay, see you soon." Sheldon waved goodbye and broke the connection, before turning to Leonard. "Ain't she great?" He smiled happily and Leonard nodded, still dazed at how quickly the pair had seemed to bond.

"You shared a cup of tea a few hours ago and now you've invited her over for dinner…Sheldon, you must really like this girl a lot."

"I do…now don't get any ideas, Leonard. We're not some hippy dippy pair that will suddenly start displaying overt signs of affection, we're just two people that happen to have a lot in common. Friends only, Leonard."

"Okay, but you're a guy and she's a girl; stranger things have happened. Look at me and Penny for instance, we never thought we'd be anything more than neighbours; three years on and we're now good friends and for a brief time something more."

"Yes, but I'm a Homo Novus, Leonard and in full control of my endocrine system. No, just because I admire Amy's mind does not mean that it will go any further than that."

"Me thinks the man doth protest too much, Sheldon I saw the way your face lit up when she replied to your first message…all I'm saying is don't rule out the possibility that the two of you could have something special. Now, I'm going to call in the order, what did Amy want to eat?"

"The same as me, Tangerine Chicken and a portion of dumplings to share." Sheldon replied without hesitation and Leonard smirked.

"See? You're already sharing your food…"

"Stop it, Leonard, I don't want you scaring Amy off with your juvenile comments…I like her very much and I would hate to lose you as a friend if you did anything to make her run away." Sheldon wasn't aware how much his comment revealed about his feelings for his new friend, and wisely Leonard decided not to comment any further. He simply picked up the phone and called in the order, as soon as he was through Sheldon sent Amy a quick text to confirm and as before, within a few seconds she had replied.

**On my way, see you soon. AFF**

**Will meet you in lobby, elevator out of order SLC**

"I'm going to meet Amy downstairs." Sheldon announced a short time later as he slipped his phone in his pocket and rose from the couch.

"Okay, I'll get the plates ready…where's she coming from?"

"Glendale. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes to drive over at this time of night." Sheldon replied as he walked over to the apartment door. His phone buzzed again and he smiled as he read her text, fingers flying over the keys as he responded. A few seconds later his phone went off again and he let out a breathy chuckle. "Amy's collected the food, she got collared by Mr. Chen who wanted to know why a mysterious woman would be collecting our order. Oh, he gave her extra fortune cookies and said she had beautiful eyes, comparing them to jade…I would have thought they were more emerald than jade." Leonard grinned again at Sheldon's comments and turned away before Sheldon could see him smiling. Sheldon left the apartment to wait for Amy in the lobby while Leonard carried the plates over to the coffee table and set a pile of napkins ready; eager to meet the person that had managed to turn Sheldon's world upside down in the space of less than a day.


	3. Chapter 3

Leonard looked up as the sound of cheerful banter grew louder as Sheldon entered the apartment, closely followed by a small brunette clasping her purse to her chest.

"Defend."

"Really, Sheldon? I hardly think it requires an explanation."

"Fair point, Doctor Fowler. I concede." Sheldon grinned over at his companion, who nodded regally in response. "Oh, Leonard…this is Amy. Amy, this is Leonard."

"Nice to meet you in person, Amy. Please, take a seat." Leonard rose from his seat, and waved a hand over at the couch.

"Thank you, but if I could just wash up a little before dinner?" Amy smiled and then looked over at Sheldon.

"Of course, follow the hallway straight down, the bathroom is directly ahead. You'll find the Purell beneath the sink." Sheldon set the bags down on the coffee table and gestured toward the bathroom.

"Excellent, I'll be right back." Amy strode down the hallway, and Leonard didn't miss the way Sheldon's eyes lingered on her slightly swaying posterior as she walked away. Leonard cleared his throat and Sheldon blinked as he turned to face his friend.

"Just her mind, huh?"

"What?" Sheldon blinked again and Leonard smirked a little.

"Something tells me there's more you admire about Amy than just her mind, I saw the way you checked out her butt as she walked away."

"Leonard!" Sheldon was shocked at the very idea, and then his cheeks flushed deeply as he sank to the couch and pressed a hand over his eyes. "Oh, Dear Lord! I'm turning into George!"

"Nah…George would have been over there groping her, you just looked. There's nothing wrong with that Sheldon, it's a perfectly natural reaction…did you like what you saw?"

"Oh boy, that's an uncomfortable topic." Sheldon shifted on the couch and tried not to think about what he saw; the way Amy's skirt moulded itself to her shapely rear and how it swayed gently as she walked.

"Okay, I think that's a yes." Leonard saw the way Sheldon's pupils dilated and his breath quickened. "Try to think of something else…something that will calm you down a little."

"I am perfectly calm, thank you."

"Uh, buddy, I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily but if you call that calm…" Leonard pointed out one part of Sheldon's body that definitely would not be described as calm at the present moment. Sheldon glanced down at his groin and placed a cushion over his lap.

"It will go away, it always has before…"

"So, it happens a lot then?" Leonard grinned, it appeared that Sheldon wasn't as asexual as everyone had assumed he was.

"Hardly ever really, but for some reason it has been particularly annoying today."

"Oh…and you can't think of any reason why it would be 'annoying' today?"

"For Goodness Sake Leonard! I think we can both work out why it's affecting me today, now can we please talk of something else before Amy gets back in?" Sheldon practically growled at Leonard as he shifted position on the couch, feeling particularly uncomfortable with the idea that Leonard knew exactly what was causing his growing issue.

"Okay, but I can't believe that it's never happened to you before; there must have been other occasions where…"

"Leonard, please drop it! No, it's never happened before and I don't understand why it's chosen to react like this to her…" Sheldon looked up as Amy appeared in the hallway just then and he groaned a little under his breath. "Excuse me for just one minute…I just need to…ah…" He lept up from the couch and keeping his body turned slightly away from her, headed past Amy toward the bathroom.

"He just needs to clean up a little, Sheldon's very exacting about hygiene." Leonard offered up as an excuse, knowing exactly why Sheldon had raced down the hallway.

"Of course." Amy nodded understandingly, walking over to sit down in the beige armchair, crossing her ankles neatly and placing her purse at her feet.

"Shall we?" Leonard gestured over to the unopened bags of food and started pulling out containers at Amy's nod. "Sheldon may be some time, he likes to be thorough about these things."

In the bathroom, Sheldon was leaning with his hands clenched tightly against the edge of the sink, feeling his knuckles threatening to burst through his skin. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and barely recognised the wild expression of the man staring back at him.

"You are the master of you own body. You can control your baser urges, you must resist." Sheldon looked down aghast at the firm bulge pressing against his zipper. "Why do you persist in tormenting me in this fashion? I only dealt with you last month…" He pressed a finger lightly against himself, testing whether it had deflated a little and instead groaned as it pulsed lightly against his touch. "Oh, Dear Lord!" He couldn't resist running his finger lightly along his zipper, tracing the outline of his firm length and felt it throbbing. He groaned again and knew that he had to deal with the issue, when it got like this there was only one course of action. He quickly unzipped his pants and stepped out of them, before hooking his fingers in the waistband of his briefs and lowering them to the floor. Not looking down at all, he stepped over to the tub and took himself firmly in hand.

"Don't think about it too much, just get it over with quickly and you can return to dinner." Sheldon muttered to himself as he started stroking himself from base to crown, tugging firmly on the end to spread the little drop of sticky liquid along his length. Of course, thinking about dinner had his thoughts drifting over to who he would be sharing that dinner with and soon visions of Amy's shapely buttocks filling out her skirt drifted through his mind and his hand started moving faster up and down his length until he was consumed with the thought of how she might look without her clothes covering her delectable rear. Sheldon's hips jerked forward as he started to pump himself more urgently, tugging and squeezing harder and groaning low in the back of his throat. In no time at all he was spilling his sticky essence over his clenched fist as it shot out to coat the side of the bathtub with streams of the white pearly strands. "Aargh…" Sheldon's thighs jerked relentlessly as he gave himself a few more languid tugs until he softened completely in his hand.

Leaning forward, he pulled the shower head down, watching as the pearly liquid ran down the drain. He rinsed his hand off under the spray, and damped the washcloth running it carefully over his sensitive groin. Satisfied that he was completely clean, Sheldon crossed over to the sink scrubbing his hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap and then sprayed Purell over his hands to ensure their cleanliness. He quickly pulled on his briefs and pants before running a comb through his hair and departing the bathroom.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting." He said quietly as he walked slowly back into the living room.

"We haven't been waiting, you've only been gone a few minutes." Amy glanced up from where Leonard was still unpacking the cartons and smiled over at Sheldon as he made his way over to the end seat of the couch. Leonard observed the almost sleepy look in Sheldon's eyes and knew exactly what his roommate had been up to in the bathroom.

"Tangerine chicken for you, Sheldon and another for you, Amy." Leonard handed over the plates containing their identical meals and pushed the carton of dumplings closer to Sheldon. "There's your dumplings as well."

"Mmm, yummy." Amy took her first forkful of Tangerine chicken into her mouth and groaned appreciatively, Sheldon averted his gaze and tried to ignore the noises coming from her throat; they reminded him too much of what he had sounded like in the bathroom and he was trying very hard not to have a repeated experience. "That is delicious, far better than anything I've had from my local restaurant."

"Well, anytime you get the urge just come on over here, we usually have Chinese on a Friday night followed by a few video games." Sheldon made the offer quite casually as if he wouldn't be affected by her decision at all, but Leonard caught the slight grin that flittered over his face when Amy said that she would keep it in mind.

"So, Amy what kind of study are you involved with at the moment?" Leonard asked, wanting to know more about the woman that had finally managed to capture Sheldon's attention.

"I'm studying addiction in Capuchin monkeys, in particular how it affects the patterns of the brain. We've got them addicted to cigarettes and have slowly started to wean a few of them off in order to observe their behavioural changes."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yes it's fascinating, next week I am taking one of the subjects home with me to do a full 48 hour study in a different environment, a capuchin male named Ricky."

"Ooh, I'd like to see that!" Sheldon exclaimed. "I have a particular fondness for koala's myself but it might be interesting to see other primates up close."

"You're welcome to come over, I start Wednesday morning at the lab and will be taking Ricky home with me that evening. I could prepare a meal if you'd like to join me." Amy glanced over at Sheldon and he grinned happily.

"I'd like that…could we have spaghetti with little hot dogs cut up in it? That's my absolute favourite meal."

"Sure, I can do that." Amy agreed and Leonard watched the two of them smiling at each other as they shared the cartons of dumplings, Sheldon even allowing Amy to take the last one. They finally sat back in their seats, rubbing their stomachs in contentment.

"That was delicious, and well worth the journey over…and the compliment from that lovely Mr. Chen too!"

"Oh, I completely forgot! How much do I owe you?" Sheldon slipped his hand into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet.

"Nothing, it was my pleasure." Amy waved the money away and Sheldon frowned, not happy with the idea at all.

"My Mama taught me that the gentleman always pays when he issues an invitation to dine."

"Sheldon, it's okay. It was lovely to share a meal with someone else for a change, rather than spending another evening alone in my apartment…I don't have the world's most exciting social life outside of work functions."

"My treat next time, and no arguments from you, little lady." Sheldon said sternly and Amy grinned over at him; liking the idea that there would be a next time. "What are you doing on Tuesday? We always eat out at The Cheesecake Factory on a Tuesday with some of our friends."

"Tuesday I'm having a dinner meeting with my boss, we're discussing our next topic of study…Oh, I've just remembered…It's going to be run in a joint project with Caltech so there's a possibility that I may run into you at some stage if I get transferred over."

"That would be lovely, once you start we could have lunch together. You'll have to meet Raj and Howard, they were the two men that accompanied me to the coffee shop this afternoon."

"Sounds great, it would be nice to see a couple of friendly faces; I hate starting anywhere new, I think that's why I've stayed at UCLA since gaining my doctorate…fear of change. I have been thinking about maybe joining one of the programmes run by the zoo or the aquarium but something's always held me back, maybe I'll think about it a little more once the next two studies have been completed." Amy checked her watch and reluctantly rose to her feet, "I'd better get going, it's getting late. Thank you both for inviting me over to dinner, I enjoyed it very much."

"Let me get my jacket and I'll walk you to your car." Sheldon offered, surprising Leonard with his gentlemanly behaviour.

"There's no need, I'm parked directly opposite the building under a street light and I have my rape alarm on my keychain." Amy held up her keys and Sheldon shook his head.

"I insist, you never know who could be roaming the streets at this time of night."

"Very well, thank you." Amy pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder and smiled over at Leonard. "It was very nice to meet you, Leonard."

"And you, Amy, don't be a stranger." Leonard rose to his feet and started gathering up the dirty dishes as Sheldon escorted Amy out of the apartment and they walked slowly down the stairwell, each reluctant to see the evening end.

"Amy, I…" Sheldon started to ask a question but the words got caught up in his throat as Amy turned her head to look at him.

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I…err…can I…" Sheldon couldn't choke out what he wanted to ask and before he could even think about what he was about to do, clamped his hand on Amy's hip and dipped his head down to press his lips firmly against her own. Amy's hands floundered in the air for a second before her instincts took over and they seemed to rise up of their own accord to settle on Sheldon's shoulders. He stepped a little closer and his hands rose up to clasp her gently around the waist as he tentatively moved his closed lips against her mouth. Their difference in height had him bent over and Amy stretched up on tiptoe as their mouths moved together gently, Amy sighed against Sheldon's lips and he felt her warm breath escape her mouth to tease at his senses. His mouth lifted slightly and his eyes drifted open, as Amy's heavy lidded eyes rose up to meet his own seeking gaze.

"Is this okay?"

"Hmm." Amy murmured softly and Sheldon's mouth drifted down to lightly press against her mouth once more; one hand slipping down to finally cup her curvy rear in his palm. He groaned against her mouth he urged her closer against his lean frame. Sheldon finally tore his mouth away from Amy and buried his head against her neck, breathing heavily.

"Oh, Amy…you really are a vixen; you've somehow managed to worm your way through all of my defences and made me feel things I never thought possible." Amy reached up to run her fingers through the short hairs at Sheldon's nape and sighed softly.

"It's the same with me, I never even gave you my usual speech about all forms of physical contact being off the table."

"I usually eschew all forms of physical contact completely, and yet here I am kissing you and wanting to keep you close, what have you done to me?" Sheldon lifted his head and removed his hands from Amy's waist, allowing her to step back a little.

"I don't know, but whatever this is…we're in it together." Amy stroked her finger down the side of Sheldon's cheek and he closed his eyes, feeling her light touch down to his very soul. "I have to go…"

"I know." Sheldon opened his eyes and reached up to capture Amy's hand, curling his fingers around her palm. "Come on, I'll walk you to your car." Amy allowed herself to be led down the stairwell and into the lobby, completely oblivious to the stare of a slender, young blonde passing them in the doorway and therefore did not see the woman run up the stairwell, eager to find out more about Sheldon and his mysterious visitor.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheldon let himself back into his apartment ten minutes later after sharing another brief goodnight kiss with Amy at her car. He walked past Leonard and Penny in the living room, choosing instead to return directly to his bedroom where he could sit quietly and reflect on the day's events.

A few minutes later, Leonard was able to get rid of Penny and knocked on Sheldon's door a mug of warm milk in hand.

"Sheldon, I brought you some warm milk…you looked as if you could use it."

"You can come in, as long as Penny isn't with you." Sheldon called out from within his room.

"No, I sent her home…and I didn't tell her anything about Amy either." Leonard replied as he opened the door and stepped over the threshold with two mugs; one containing warm milk and the other tea. He noticed Sheldon had changed into his pyjamas and was sitting on the edge of his bed. Passing one of the mugs across, Leonard took a seat on the wooden chair in the corner of the room and waited for Sheldon to break the silence.

"Thank you for the milk, Leonard, you were right in thinking that I could use it." Sheldon finally said as he sipped at the soothing beverage.

"You're welcome, Sheldon." Leonard replied, sipping his own drink and draping one leg over his knee casually. He knew that Sheldon would talk about whatever was bothering him, given enough time and it was no good rushing him into anything; that was a sure fire way to get Sheldon to wound up tighter than a clam. It took half of the mug of milk before Sheldon spoke again, and when he did Leonard nearly fell off the chair in shock.

"I kissed Amy and I think I want to do it again."

"Um…wow…I don't quite know what to say to that; you must have enjoyed it if you want to do it a second time."

"If I kissed her again, it would be for the fourth time…we kissed twice on the stairs and then again at her car."

"Again…wow…" Leonard was genuinely shocked, Sheldon had only met Amy that afternoon and had already masturbated in the bathroom after being aroused in her presence but had actually acted on his feelings and done something about it.

"We're meeting for dinner on Thursday…I'm a little nervous, Leonard. I've never felt this way about anyone before and I don't want to mess things up by being too forward." Sheldon set his mug down on his nightstand and raised his legs onto his bed.

"Did Amy seem to enjoy kissing you?"

"I think so, she placed her hands on my shoulders and didn't slap my face or anything."

"Whoa…you're telling me that you initiated the kiss? I thought it was Amy."

"No, I think I quite clearly stated that I kissed Amy. Had she initiated the kiss I would have said that Amy kissed me." Sheldon corrected Leonard's false assumption which only confused the other man further.

"So, you kissed her three times and you think you'd like to do it again…Good for you, buddy!"

"But when we kissed at her car she even parted her lips slightly, that was when I got a little nervous and practically ran away…It was too much Leonard and I felt things happen again."

"Things? Oh, you mean you were turned on by Amy kissing you. Sheldon, if you weren't getting aroused by kissing Amy then I'd start to worry…Experiencing sexual arousal from kissing a beautiful woman is completely natural and you just need to learn how to stop things from getting out of control."

"That's just it Leonard, today was the first day that it's ever been a problem and I don't like the way I had to do that in the bathroom…especially knowing that Amy was sitting just a few feet down the hallway!" Sheldon didn't like the way his body had started dictating his actions and felt overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through his veins.

"Welcome to adulthood, Sheldon…Your body has finally caught up with your brain and things may get a little out of whack until you learn how to deal with it." Leonard smirked a little at the thought of Sheldon dealing with morning erections and unwanted urges.

"What kind of things? How did you deal with it?"

"A lot of cold showers and you know…" Leonard made a gesture with his fist and Sheldon gave him a slight grimace of distaste.

"How often would I have to…" Sheldon couldn't even bring himself to copy Leonard's gesture and settled for the most banal of expressions. "..Self-abuse?"

"Well, when I first experienced sexual arousal I was around fourteen or so…I 'performed' almost every day during my morning shower and every time I thought about Lisa Brownley, so yeah pretty much all the time."

"Good Lord! Every day…It's simply too horrible to contemplate, no I shall have to call things off with Amy before it gets to that. I can't be doing that every day."

"It's not like throwing a switch Sheldon, trust me…once you've done it the once, you're going to have to do it again." Leonard picked up the empty mugs and walked over to the bedroom door, he turned around with a final piece of advice. "Oh, and you might want to keep a couple of spare sets of sheets handy."

"Sheets? I change my sheets on a Wednesday evening, you know that Leonard."

"Trust me, you're going to need them." Leonard winked over at Sheldon before slipping out of the room, closing the door behind him. Sheldon slipped under his covers and switched off his reading light, resting on his back with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'll call Amy in the morning and tell her that I can't make dinner on Thursday…maybe we can go back to communicating just via text or e-mail instead." Sheldon fell asleep with Amy on his mind, the last image that floated across his mind was the cloudiness of her eyes as he lifted his head after their first kiss…

"Ohh…Amy…yes, yes…YES!" Sheldon woke up suddenly, wrenched from his dream to find his hand clasping his throbbing erection, hips jerking wildly under his hopelessly creased sheets and his pyjama pants and bed linens soaked with a combination of perspiration and ejaculate. "Oh, Dear Lord, Leonard was right…it's a disaster!" Sheldon peeled his hand away from his sticky thigh and grimaced at the feel of the liquid running down his palm. He wiped his hand clean on his pyjama top and then threw back the covers, stripping them off the bed, making pile of dirty linens in the corner of the room. Sheldon crossed over to his dresser and extracted a clean pair of pyjamas and briefs from the drawers, muttering crossly to himself under his breath.

"This is too much…wearing Sunday night pyjamas on a Saturday, and I need another shower as well." He stalked down the hallway into the bathroom and wrenched on the shower, stripping his soiled pyjamas and undershirt off and gingerly removing his briefs. He stepped under the spray and glanced down at his manhood, lying placid against his thigh and gave it a stern talking to. "No more, twice in one day is more than enough, now behave!"

"Sheldon…you okay in there buddy?" Leonard heard the sound of Sheldon stripping off his bed and then the shower turning on. He'd glanced over at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was a little past three o'clock in the morning.

"I'm fine…don't come in!" Sheldon called out from inside the bathroom, and Leonard could hear the panic in his voice.

"I won't…I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Not really, but I will be just as soon as I get cleaned up and call things off with…you-know-who."

"What, Amy?"

"Dear Lord, Leonard! You just had to mention her name didn't you? I'm trying to calm things down in here and you go and set things off again…" Sheldon groaned in exasperation and Leonard grinned from out in the hallway.

"Try to think of something else…something completely boring; like trains, or trying to solve a complicated equation."

"LEONARD!" Sheldon protested loudly and Leonard grinned again, this really was too good.

"Really Sheldon, trains? I never knew you found them so riveting…"

"It's not the trains themselves…at the moment it's more of the thought of them approaching a tunnel…oh God!" Sheldon moaned loudly and Leonard heard the unmistakable pants of someone in the throes of passion. "YES…aargghh…AMY!"

"Okay, I'm just gonna leave you there; I think you've got everything in hand…pardon the pun." Leonard smirked to himself as he wandered back to bed, jumping under the covers and pulling a pillow over his head to drown out the sound of the shower that by now was probably running a little on the cold side…

Four hours later, Leonard woke up to the sound of the shower running yet again. He left his bedroom to find Sheldon's heaped laundry hamper piled high with soiled linens and not one, but two pairs of pyjama's dumped on top. The shower eventually shut off and it was a very weary looking Sheldon that appeared in the living room a few minutes later, pale faced and red eyed.

"Trouble sleeping?"

"You could say that…" Sheldon grunted as he wheeled his laundry hamper over to the front door and prepared to take them down to the basement.

"Have you contacted…"

"Please…don't say her name, I beg you. No, I haven't yet contacted…her; it's a little too early and I need to choose my words carefully. I don't want to cause her any undue distress, but I simply cannot cope with this overwhelming desire to…you know…"

"I know, buddy; but what if that's just what you need? Why don't you consider taking things further with her and maybe things will settle down."

"You want me to become a slave to my baser urges? Good Lord, Leonard! Have you learnt nothing about me over the past seven years? I am a Homo Novus and I am a master of my own body." Sheldon shot Leonard a scathing look and the other man just shrugged his shoulders.

"Sheldon, buddy…at the moment I think your body is telling you that you're definitely just a normal hot blooded man…and talking to it won't make it behave. Just keep the date on Thursday and at least discuss the possibility of taking things further."

"I'll think about it, I'll be back in a while after I've completed my laundry." Sheldon looked down at his laundry hamper and sighed heavily. "If I do this, then I'm going to need more sheets…and pyjamas too."

"I'll drive you over to Target when you get back." Leonard promised and Sheldon gave him a brief smile of thanks before taking his laundry down to the basement.


	5. Chapter 5

The next four days seemed like slow torture to Sheldon, he tried not to think about Amy at all but it seemed that everywhere he looked he was reminded of her. Leonard flicked on a documentary about how oil spills were causing damage to penguins on Monday evening and Sheldon had to make a quick escape into the bathroom as watching the way the rescue workers were washing away the oil coating the penguins only reminded Sheldon of the way Amy's hair gleamed under the lights of the coffee shop. On Tuesday he was unable to enjoy his meal at The Cheesecake Factory as all he could do was think about Amy's dinner meeting with her head of Department regarding her potential move to CalTech; a situation only made worse when she excitedly called him in the middle of dinner with the news that she would be starting in two weeks' time. Sheldon then had to put up with a barrage of questions from the rest of the gang as to why he spent the rest of the evening in the men's bathroom…

Sheldon cancelled their plans to eat at Amy's apartment, thinking that he was in too fragile a state to spend two evenings alone with her. By Thursday afternoon he was an absolute wreck and cursed himself for ever succumbing to Raj's blackmail attempt. He hadn't slept properly since Saturday and Leonard was getting used to waking up around two am to the sound of the shower running…

"Leonard, I can't do this!" Sheldon paced up and down the length of the living room, his lean fingers furrowing through his hair leaving it in spiky disarray. "Just the thought of seeing her again….I'm worried that I won't be able to control myself around her."

"Sheldon, it will be fine." Leonard looked up from the couch where he was deeply ensconced in the latest Batman comic-book and tried to reassure his roommate. "You've Skyped her a couple of times over the last couple of days and you seemed okay."

"I certainly was not 'okay'! Leonard, I had to meditate for nearly two hours last night after she smiled at me when we said goodnight…It was torture!"

"What, that she smiled?" Leonard grinned over at Sheldon and the other man growled back at him, his frame tight with tension.

"Good Lord, man! Don't you understand anything? She smiled at me and I nearly exploded in my pants…it was just a smile through a computer screen! How am I going to cope if she smiles at me in person?" Sheldon started pacing again, and Leonard knew it was time to intervene.

"Buddy, the best thing for you to do right now is to go into the bathroom and deal with your little situation before you see her…it will calm you down a little and might make things a little easier for when you see her again."

"Calm me down? Trust me, Leonard…it won't calm me down in the slightest; all it serves to do is leave me wanting more…" Sheldon stopped pacing and slumped down in the armchair, sighing heavily as his head hit the back cushions. "Every time it happens I'm left feeling empty and a little ashamed; almost as if I am disrespecting her by thinking about her when I…you know what I mean."

"Oh buddy, I'm sorry you feel like that. Trust me when I say that when it happens for real you won't feel empty in the slightest; it's a whole different ball game when there are two of you involved. You'll feel complete and invigorated rather than empty and shame is the last thing you'll feel." Leonard tried to explain how he had felt after the first time he had slept with someone that he truly cared about but didn't know whether Sheldon would fully understand until he had experienced it for himself. "I don't know what else to tell you, Sheldon; you obviously have some very strong feelings developing for Amy and I think you need to find out whether she feels the same way about you and take it from there."

"I know…it's just difficult to have a serious conversation when all I can think about is how soft her skin felt against my fingertips and how good she felt pressed up against me…" Sheldon groaned a little as the memories flooded his mind and he battled to suppress them. "No! I have to stop thinking about that…she'll be here soon and I need to remain in control of myself."

"I'm going to head out soon as I'm meeting Howard and Raj at the comic-book store. You'll have the apartment to yourself for a couple of hours, why don't you order takeout to be delivered and the two of you can talk in private rather than discussing your relationship in public? It might make you both feel a little more comfortable." Leonard rose up from the couch and grabbed his jacket from the back of his desk chair. He collected his wallet and keys from the bowl by the front door and with a final sympathetic glance at Sheldon, let himself out of the apartment.

As he walked down the stairwell he met Amy coming up, once glance at her somewhat tense features and he knew that he was right to leave them alone in the apartment.

"Hi Amy, going up to meet Sheldon?"

"Oh, hello Leonard." Amy gave him a slight smile and hovered on the staircase. "I wasn't sure whether I should come over this evening or not, Sheldon was a little abrupt during our Skype chat yesterday evening and I got the impression that he was having second thoughts about this whole thing."

"Take a seat for a minute and let me tell you a few things about Sheldon Lee Cooper." Leonard sank to the top step and patted the floor next to him. When Amy was settled he began. "Sheldon has always kept himself a little apart from everyone else; he's a brilliant and very intelligent physicist but sometimes it's the everyday things in life that he simply doesn't understand. Sarcasm completely escapes him and he's never let himself really get close to anyone apart from his Mother, Meemaw and sister, Missy. You are the first person that I've ever seen him open up about and I have to tell you that Sheldon likes you very much."

"I like him too, a lot actually." Amy confessed with a little smile and Leonard grinned back.

"That's good…you just need to let him know that, because quite frankly it has been like living with a teenager this week. 'Ooh Leonard, do you think that she likes me?'" Leonard mimicked Sheldon's low twang and Amy giggled, feeling a lot more relaxed about meeting Sheldon again in person. They rose up from the stair and after another shared smile, went their separate ways; Leonard jogging down the stairs to meet his friends and Amy up the remaining two flights to see Sheldon.

She tapped lightly on the apartment door and within seconds it had opened to reveal a slightly nervous looking Sheldon.

"Good evening, Amy Farrah Fowler." Sheldon said quietly, holding the door open for her to enter.

"Hello, Sheldon." Amy smiled widely at her date, and Sheldon felt the nervous tension in his stomach dissolve at the sight of her standing before him. He calmed down a little and Amy saw his shoulders relax as she brushed past him. He breathed in the scent of her apple shampoo and relaxed even further as he closed the door and walked over to the couch.

"I thought we might order something in to eat so that we could talk for a little while without being overheard." Sheldon retrieved a variety of take-out menus from the drawer underneath the telephone table and passed them across to Amy who had taken a seat at his side on the couch.

"That's fine. What did you want to talk about?" Amy glanced briefly at the menus and set them down on the coffee table, turning back to face Sheldon as she rested her hands on her knees. Sheldon took a deep breath and swivelled slightly on the couch so that he could look directly at her.

"Amy…I…Oh, this is harder than I thought. I don't really know where to begin." Sheldon's hands fluttered in his lap and his breath hitched in his throat as Amy reached out to place one slim hand over his and curled her fingers around the back of his hand.

"Sheldon, just relax and talk to me…it doesn't matter about what, we can just sit here quietly and talk about nothing in particular; I just want us to be comfortable together." Sheldon shifted position on the couch so that he was resting in a more natural position and manoeuvred his hand so that their palms touched lightly, his fingers interlacing with Amy's.

"It seems strange to me that you always know exactly the right thing to say to me; one of my friend's, Penny, would have been nagging at me about how I should be more of a man…"

"Sheldon, just ignore what everyone else tells you to do and focus on what you want." Amy squeezed his fingers lightly and he tightened his grip a little. Amy noticed his cheeks developing a light rosy hue and wondered what he could be thinking about.

"I'm almost afraid to tell you what I really want…" Sheldon murmured in a low, husky tone and Amy felt a delicate shiver make its way down her spine at the sound of his voice.

"Tell me…" She whispered in response, and Sheldon clutched her hand tightly as he turned his head to face her.

"I'd really like to kiss you again." Sheldon finally managed to verbalise what he had been thinking ever since he opened the door to see her standing on the other side. Amy's free hand fluttered against the base of her throat and she let out a little strangled gasp.

"Oh…so why haven't you then?"

"Because I don't know if I would be able to control myself if I touched you again…." Sheldon's hungry gaze roved over Amy's face as he watched her mouth curve up lightly at the corners, his finger reached up to trace the delicate curve and felt her breath whisper over his fingertips. "You torment my every thought, both waking and asleep…I've been in Hell ever since I met you and it's only when you are near, that I feel any semblance of peace…What have you done to me, you little vixen?" Sheldon's fingers caressed every millimetre of her lips, drifting from corner to corner and then pressed lightly against her bottom lip. He sucked in a harsh breath as Amy's small teeth bit lightly down on the tip of his forefinger and his pupils dilated as she drew it in between her lips for a second before releasing it again. "Oh God!" Sheldon groaned as his groin tightened at her provocative action as his imagination began to run wild…if it felt that good when she licked his finger what would it feel like if she did it elsewhere on his body?

"Sheldon…" Amy whispered as Sheldon's eyes closed as he tried to wrestle with the gamut of images that were tormenting him.

"Yeah?" He groaned out, forcing his eyelids open. Amy leant forward into the frame of his body and ran her finger over his lush bottom lip.

"Switch your brain off for a minute and hurry up and kiss me."


	6. Chapter 6

_"Sheldon…" Amy whispered as Sheldon's eyes closed as he tried to wrestle with the gamut of images that were tormenting him._

_"Yeah?" He groaned out, forcing his eyelids open. Amy leant forward into the frame of his body and ran her finger over his lush bottom lip. _

_"Switch your brain off for a minute and hurry up and kiss me." _

"Yes, ma'am." Sheldon was all too pleased to obey Amy's whispered demand and dipped his head to bring their lips into full contact. They both groaned as their mouths grew slick with moisture and this time Sheldon didn't scamper back in horror when Amy's lips slightly parted. His tongue slipped out to tease at her bottom lip and she immediately opened her mouth wider so that he could explore inside. Their minty breaths mingled as the kiss grew more heated, Sheldon's hands stayed gently clasping Amy's waist as he broke the kiss, resting their foreheads together. "Amy…"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I'd like for us to become more than friends…" He whispered softly, leaning back a little so that he could see her expression. A smile teased at the corner of Amy's mouth as she nestled her head into the curve of his neck and reached down to clasp his hand.

"I'd like that very much." Amy kicked off her shoes so that she could curl her legs up on the couch, snuggling close to Sheldon's side and wrapped a hand around his narrow waist.

"Good." Sheldon murmured as he scooted back into the cushions and lifted his arm so that Amy could curve herself even closer against his body. "Are you ready to choose something for our dinner?"

"Mmm…not yet, let's just cuddle for a minute longer."

"As long as you want." Sheldon leant his head against the back cushion and Amy closed her eyes as she relished the feel of his warm body pressing so close to hers. Sheldon's fingers curled around her palm and he raised their joined hands to his lips to press a soft kiss against the back of her hand. This was how Leonard found them when he arrived home a few hours later, as soon as he saw the two of them snuggled around each other on the couch he tried to retreat out of the apartment without waking them, but Sheldon's Vulcan like hearing alerted him to the fact that they were no longer alone.

"Leonard? What are you doing back so early, I thought you were at the Comic-book store?"

"I was…it's nearly nine o'clock, Sheldon." Leonard kept his voice to a low murmur as he took a seat in the armchair next to Sheldon's end of the couch. Amy wrinkled her nose up a little as the murmur of voices began to bring her into wakefulness but Sheldon gently shushed her and she burrowed under his shoulder again without waking. "Did you get things sorted between the two of you?" Leonard asked quietly, and Sheldon reluctantly tore his gaze away from his sleeping girlfriend to look at his roommate.

"Amy and I both agreed that we would like to become more than mere friends; but are hesitant to leap into anything too fast. I'd appreciate it if you could keep this between just the two of us for now until we get used to our new status; neither of us have been in a serious romantic relationship before and we'd like to take it slowly."  
>"But she's your girlfriend now, right?"<p>

"I think we can safely classify Amy Farrah Fowler as my official girlfriend, yes."

"Mmm…I like the sound of that." Amy murmured sleepily as she rubbed her cheek against Sheldon's shoulder and he glanced down with a soft smile, tapping the tip of her nose with his index finger.

"You do, huh?"

"Yeah…" Amy returned Sheldon's soft smile with one of her own, and Sheldon dropped a quick kiss to her forehead. Leonard felt as though he was intruding and got up to walk over to the kitchen counter where he busied himself filling the kettle with water and setting it to boil. Sheldon glanced over to check that Leonard was facing away from then and bent his head to place a tender kiss against Amy's lush lips. Pulling reluctantly away, Sheldon ran a gentle finger along Amy's jaw before tucking her against his side once more, keeping their hands firmly clasped together and resting them on his knee. Leonard turned around to offer them a cup of tea and Sheldon glanced down at Amy and accepted for them both.

"Two white ginger's please with a dash of honey, please."

"What did you order in for dinner?" Leonard asked as he plucked the teabags out of Sheldon's tea box on the counter.

"Nothing in the end, we fell asleep on the couch instead."

"Do you want some toast or something?" Leonard offered, peering in the fridge to see what was available.

"Amy, do you want something?"

"Hmm…I am a little hungry, I don't quite know what for though." Amy wrinkled her nose up at the thought of toast and Sheldon tapped the end gently.

"What do you feel like? I could make you some French toast if you like?" Sheldon raised his eyebrow and Amy giggled as she snuggled in close to his side.

"That sounds lovely, but I'm sooo comfortable."

"Mmm, me too." Sheldon sighed happily as Amy nestled her head under his chin, he felt as if that little curve was made to fit her perfectly and it felt divine.

"Don't worry, Sheldon. I've got this…" Leonard called over from the kitchen as he pulled the eggs, cinnamon and sugar onto the counter. "It's one of the few things that I can cook without it going horribly wrong." Leonard turned to the bread bin and muttered under his breath.

"What's wrong, Leonard?" Sheldon asked, breaking away from Amy's soft gaze to look over at his roommate.

"We're out of bread, all we have left is a couple of stale croissants and some leftover brioche."

"Do you have any custard powder and cream?" Amy piped up from the couch and Leonard checked the cupboards, pulling out a cardboard box from the back of the cupboard.

"Yeah, I don't know what we used it for; probably something Sheldon's Mom left behind. It's still in date though."

"Great! Let me at it." Amy lept up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. She poured the cream into a pan and turned the heat down low. "Could you cut the brioche and croissants into generous chunks for me, please?"

"Sure…what are you making?" Leonard grabbed a bread knife from the block and started sawing the loaf into thick slices. Sheldon wandered over to take seat at the counter, propping his chin on his hand as he watched his new girlfriend flitting around his kitchen.

"It's a surprise…I know that you're lactose intolerant Leonard, is there anything you can take to settle your stomach so that you can eat it with us?"

"Yeah, I've got some drops that I keep in the fridge for when we run out of soy milk. If you add a few drops to the cream once it's cooked, I should be okay." Leonard fetched the small bottle from the shelf and handed it over to Amy.

"Oh, this is what is normally added to baby's formula if they have problems digesting their food. You know that you can pick this up in any pharmacy for a fraction of the cost? Look for a bottle that says 'Lactase' as the main ingredient."

"Okay, thanks Amy." Leonard made a note and pinned it to the noticeboard, and gave Sheldon a thumbs up, signalling his approval. Amy stirred a small amount of cream into the custard powder, making a thick paste and then slowly poured the rest of the cream over the top before returning it to the pan to thicken.

"This would be great if we had a little coconut or chocolate liquor, the alcohol would burn off during cooking but it would taste great." Amy stirred the custard mixture in the pan, and then removed it from the heat, adding a generous pouring of sugar and a few spoonful's of cinnamon.

"I think I can lay my hands on some coconut liquor…" Leonard mused quietly, looking over Sheldon for his approval. Sheldon smiled faintly, trusting Amy implicitly when she said that the alcoholic content would burn off during the cooking. "Okay, don't do anything else until I get back…I'll be five minutes!" Leonard ran out of the door, and Sheldon heard him rapping on Penny's front door.

"He's gone to see whether Penny has any liquor in her stash…She used to date Leonard, but things didn't work out between them like he hoped; they're still friends though." Sheldon interpreted Amy's expression as slight doubt over the identity of the mysterious Penny and quickly reassured her that it was where Leonard's interest lay and not his own. Amy leant over the counter and they exchanged a soft and gentle kiss, broken only by Leonard coming back into the apartment followed closely by a beautiful blonde woman who looked astounded at seeing Sheldon intimately embracing a strange female.

"Amy, this is Penny. Penny, this is Amy; she's Sheldon's new girlfriend."

"Hello." Amy said quietly, with a slight blush colouring her cheekbones.

"Hi." Penny replied, hopping up onto a vacant stool and nudging Sheldon with her elbow. "So, Moonpie…tell me everything. Where'd you meet? How long have you known each other?" Sheldon sighed heavily as he shifted out of Penny's reach and walked around the counter to stand next to Amy.

"Penny, Penny…how many more times do I have to ask you not to call me by that name?" He turned to Amy and explained. "Moonpie is what my Meemaw calls me, Penny overheard me talking to her on Skype one day and ever since has persisted on referring to me as such…That and Shelly, which only reminds me of being teased by my sister, Missy." Amy rubbed his arm gently and Penny saw that Sheldon accepted her touch as if it were second nature.

"Sorry, Sheldon." Penny apologised quietly, and shrugged her shoulder. "I'll try to remember, but it might slip out every once in a while. So, what are you cooking up that requires the last drop of my coconut liquor?" Penny leant across the counter and saw the pan of cooling custard and the cubed croissants.

"It's a pudding that I usually cook up at Christmas time. You soak cubed croissants, Pannetonne or brioche in rum, coconut or chocolate liquor; mix in a handful of dried fruit and pour over some custard. You bake it for about forty minutes in a hot oven and hey presto! Instant deluxe bread pudding."

"Mmm…sounds wonderful. Where's the fruit then?"

"This is kind of an ad hoc pudding as Sheldon and I missed dinner this evening when we fell asleep on the couch." Amy placed the cubes of French pastries in the pan and slowly poured the liquor over the top; she mushed it a little with the back of a spoon and then drizzled the cooled custard over the top, finishing it off with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Sliding it into the pre-heated oven, she wiped her hands on a piece of paper towelling and then spritzed them with a little Purell from the bottle standing on the counter. "That will take around forty minutes to bake, what should we do in the meantime?"

"Sheldon still needs to fill me in on how the two of you hooked up." Penny crooked her finger over at Sheldon and he sent Amy a look of appeal. She grinned back at him and followed him over to the couch, slipping into her seat at his side. Penny sat on the beige armchair and leant forward, eager for details.

"Amy and I met last Saturday in a little coffee shop just down the street."

"No, Sheldon; it was this Saturday, not last week." Amy interrupted, correcting his story and Sheldon glanced over with a look of surprise.

"Really? It seems like ages…"

"Buddy, Amy's right; it was this Saturday just gone. Don't you remember that you asked Amy to join us at the Cheesecake Factory but she had that meeting with her boss?" Leonard called over from where he was wiping down the kitchen counter. "By the way, Amy, congrats on the move to CalTech; the guys can't wait to meet you."

"Thanks, Leonard. I'm really looking forward to starting, and it means that I get to meet Sheldon for lunch every now and then."

"Now and then? I had hoped that we could meet every day." Sheldon wrapped his hand around Amy's and rested their joined hands on his thigh.

"We'll have to see how things go, I'll be very busy during my first few weeks so we might have to grab lunch in my lab."

"Even better." Sheldon murmured as he glanced over at his girlfriend who blushed under his intent gaze.

"Wait! You're the girl I saw on the stairs at the weekend!" Penny blurted out, finally putting two and two together. "I thought you were Sheldon's sister when I first saw the two of you hugging near the door…I didn't think that whackadoodle was capable of showing that much affection, let alone to someone he'd only just met…No offence, Sheldon but you know that I'm right."

"I guess I just needed to meet the right person." Sheldon murmured as he raised their joined hands to press a lingering kiss to the back of Amy's hand.

"Ooh that's so sweet!" Penny sniffed back a tear and smiled over at the loved up pair. "So, tell me more…what happened after the coffee shop?"  
>"We talked for a while over a cup of tea and then exchanged phone numbers before parting to complete our domestic chores."<p>

"Sheldon sent me a text a few hours later and then we Skyped and he introduced me to Leonard." Amy chipped in, and Leonard walked over to join them in the living room.

"Despite Sheldon not sending me notice, he invited Amy to join us for an impromptu Chinese and Mr Chen even gave her extra fortune cookies when she collected it on the way over."

"You didn't fulfil the requirements of the roommate agreement?" Penny gasped in mock horror, and waggled her finger in Sheldon's direction. "I hope you gave yourself a strike for your actions, Sheldon."

"Oh, believe me…I suffered." Sheldon muttered drolly and exchanged a glance with Leonard, who stifled a grin at how much Sheldon had 'suffered' since meeting Amy. He squeezed Amy's hand, letting her know that everything was okay and turned back to Penny. "Anything else, your Majesty?"

"Lots, but I'll settle for when you asked her to be your girlfriend." Penny grinned over at Sheldon and raised her eyebrow. Sheldon glanced down at his watch.

"It is now nine thirty five, so approximately three hours and forty five minutes ago."

"Sheldon! What are Leonard and I doing here then? You two should be out celebrating or something!" Penny squealed and jumped up from the couch, leaving Sheldon and Amy staring up at her in confusion.

"Why on earth would we need to do that? We're quite comfortable here, thank you. Amy has prepared a delicious pudding for us to eat and then we will say goodnight." Sheldon leant his head toward Amy as she whispered something in his ear. His face flushed as he realised what Penny was inferring. "Penny! I'm shocked that you would think something like that about Amy! We hardly know each other, after all…these things should not be rushed into."

"I notice that you said I should think like that about Amy, what about you then, Sheldon?"

"Well…um…me too." Sheldon turned his face away from his blonde neighbour, knowing that she would be able to read his face like a book and know instantly that those very thoughts had been plaguing him ever since he'd met the captivating brunette at his side. "Do you think that the pudding will be ready by now, Amy? I'm suddenly starving!" Sheldon pulled Amy to her feet and hurried her over to kitchen, eager to escape the narrow eyed stare of Penny.

"Sheldon? What's the matter?" Amy whispered as they bent over the stove to check the progress of the pudding.

"I just wanted to get away from Penny! She's like a bloodhound, able to scent out the merest hint of desire in a room." Sheldon knelt down by the stove and raised his hands to cup Amy's cheeks. "I didn't want her to make a mockery out of our relationship…I do want those things with you, Amy but I need to go slowly."

"I know, Sheldon…I feel the same way." Amy whispered as Sheldon leant in closer to place a tender kiss against her lips, feeling them part softly beneath his caress. They separated reluctantly when the piercing sound of the timer shattered the moment. "I think the pudding's ready now." Amy said quietly, her hand still resting on Sheldon's shoulder.

"Yes, we'd better get it out before it burns." Sheldon replied, getting up from his knees and dropping his hand from Amy's waist to assist her up. He grabbed a pot holder from the counter and removed the dish from the oven, placing it down on the heatproof mat on the counter. "It smells delicious."

"It tastes even better." Amy remarked with a grin as she grabbed some bowls from the cupboard and Sheldon got out the cutlery. "Does everyone want some?" Penny and Leonard joined them in the kitchen and soon everyone was sitting down to enjoy the pudding, murmuring their approval as they ate their way through the whole pan. Shortly afterwards, Amy glanced at her watch and reluctantly said that she had to be going. Sheldon offered to walk her down to her car and they left the apartment together.

"I'd better put that pan in soak overnight." Leonard squirted a little detergent into the pan and glanced over at Penny. "Do you want to watch some TV with me for a while?"

"What about Sheldon?"

"Considering it took him nearly thirty minutes to say goodnight to Amy on Saturday night when she wasn't his girlfriend, I think we'll be okay for a while." Leonard smirked a little at the thought and Penny chuckled as she crossed over to flop on the couch.

"In that case, I think I'll sit in Sheldon's spot for a while."

"I'll even let you watch one of your catwalk shows if you like."

"This is turning out to be the best night ever!" Penny grinned over from the couch as she flicked through the channels. A statement echoed by Sheldon as he wandered dreamily back into the apartment nearly an hour later, hair sticking up on end and his mouth swollen from a very intense kissing session in the back seat of Amy's car. Penny grinned as she saw the way Sheldon's undershirt was sticking out of the waistband of his pants and the way Sheldon waved her away as he wandered down the hall to his bedroom.

"I'm off to bed, have a good night."

"Wow…he didn't even mention the fact that the dishes would need to be in soak overnight. He usually makes one of us stay up to wash them." Leonard shook his head in disbelief and turned to Penny. "And he let you stay in his spot."

"I know….best night ever!" The two of them exchanged high fives and Penny left Leonard switching off the lights in 4a as she headed over to her lonely bed in 4b, thinking that if Sheldon could find someone like Amy then there was still hope left for her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sheldon, are you coming to lunch? It's nearly one o'clock." Raj, one of Sheldon's circle of friends and work colleague poked his head around Sheldon's office door only to find the room completely empty. He figured that Sheldon had decided not to wait around and headed over to the cafeteria already. "It's not like we always wait for each other or anything." Raj muttered sarcastically as he shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and walked along the corridor. He entered the canteen and grabbed a tray from the end of the counter, sliding a bowl of salad next to the plate of steaming beeferoni. Raj plucked a handful of napkins from the dispenser and looked around for his friends in the sea of faces.

"Over here, Raj!" Howard's shout alerted him to where his two friends were already enjoying their lunch. Raj blinked and counted again; there was Howard and next him, Leonard but where was Sheldon? He walked over to the table and set his tray down before glancing over at Leonard.

"I called in to see if Sheldon was ready but his office was empty; I thought he'd already be here."

"It's Amy's first day at the university so he's taken lunch over to her lab." Leonard explained as he stabbed a tomato with his fork. "He's been so excited that she's going to be working here that he got up a couple of hours early today to bake her a loaf of bread for their picnic."

"Ooh, he's gonna be hard to settle down tonight…we all know what the big baby's like when he hasn't had enough sleep!" Howard chuckled and exchanged a fist bump with Raj but noticed Leonard wasn't laughing. "Something I said, Leonard?"

"It's date night tonight…again." Leonard pushed his remaining salad around on his plate and then set his fork down. "It's great that he's finally found someone that he can be himself with…but why does it always have to be at our apartment? They hardly ever go out, every couple of nights it's the same thing…she drives over, they play a silly made up word game and they order take out or Sheldon cooks his spaghetti dish."

"Can't you suggest that every other week they go to Amy's or out to an actual restaurant?" Howard suggested, leaning forward to snag the last piece of cucumber from Leonard's abandoned meal.

"Tried that already, Sheldon doesn't want Amy to have to make the additional trips; she'd have to drive over to collect him and then bring him back at the end of the night. I even said that I'd be willing to drive him over but they said they were perfectly comfortable as they were. I'm gonna have to find something to do whenever they're in there…I don't know how much more of their simmering canoodling I can take."

"Whoa…canoodling? You mean to say that Sheldon's actually in a **proper **relationship? That this isn't just two geniuses swapping boring facts as they sip tea?" Raj slapped his hand down on the table as one look at Leonard's miserable face told him everything he needed to know.

"Yeah, who'd have thought that Shelbot would be getting more action than me? I had to take him to Target a couple of weeks ago because he ran out of clean sheets…and he's taken some very cold showers as well."

"So when do we get to meet the woman that's broken our Shellybean?" Howard wanted to know and Leonard just shrugged.

"Penny and I have met her, obviously. Sheldon's not said about whether he plans to introduce her to the rest of you properly or not. You must have seen her in the coffee shop when they first met…she's pretty ordinary looking but then he's not exactly a pin up either so they're perfectly suited in that respect."

"Raj, weren't you saying just this morning that you thought you had left your copy of 'Batman Begins' at Sheldon's place the last time we watched it?"

"No, I saw it just…" Raj started to correct Howard and then nodded slowly, a sly grin appearing on his face. "Why yes Howard, I do believe you are correct. Sheldon only has the DVD version and I suggested that we would have a more exemplary experience from watching my Blu-Ray version."

"And don't you need to go and collect it so that you can pass it on to me?" Howard said, hoping that Raj would pick up his breadcrumbs to follow the trail.

"Again, you are correct. It's a shame that the only free time we have is this evening…shall we say seven o'clock?"

"Better make it seven thirty." Leonard murmured, "Amy doesn't usually get there until just after seven."

"Oh will Amy be there this evening?" Howard said, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. "That is a surprise! Perhaps we shouldn't intrude…but I did so want to watch it."

"You might want to practise your surprised look, Howard…you won't win any academy awards for best actor that's for sure!" Leonard grinned slightly and Howard pouted a little.

"I thought it was pretty good, you had me fooled completely." Raj smiled goofily and Howard settled back in his chair.

"Kiss ass…" Leonard whispered in Raj's ear as he picked up his tray to leave in the trolley. "See you tonight."

"Sheldon that was a perfect lunch…your bread was delicious!" Amy dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and Sheldon smiled as he leant over to rub his thumb over the corner of her lip.

"Missed a bit." He explained and felt Amy smile under his touch. "Have you finished unpacking your things yet? Anything I can help with?"

"The grad students are unloading the last few crates as we speak. They should be finished by the time I get back and then I think we all deserve an early night…they've all worked incredibly hard this week getting everything moved over here and it's only right that I reward them for their efforts." Amy sat back on her elbows, lifting her face to the warm sun. "How on earth did you manage to find this spot anyway?" They were picnicking in a secluded corner of the university grounds, far away from prying eyes.

"I come up here sometimes when everything below gets a little too hectic." Sheldon copied Amy's move and leant back a little. "I was having a particularly frustrating time when working with Kripke one day and Gablehauser led me up here; he handed me a key and told me that whenever I felt like I was losing my mind, I should come up here and just lay back to look at the clouds. I have a little room in the basement that I go to when I need total peace and quiet but up here I can just soak up the sun until I'm ready to go back."

"Thank you for sharing it with me, Sheldon." Amy stretched out her hand and twisted her fingers with Sheldon's and he smiled softly as they both fully reclined on the picnic blanket and gazed up into the blue sky.

"Should we do something different tonight? Maybe take in a movie or something if you're going to be finished early?"

"Should we eat first or after the movie?"

"Hmm…what if I were to finish early as well? We could leave together and go to an early showing and perhaps have dinner at your place afterwards? I still haven't seen your apartment yet and I'd like to see your harp." Sheldon twisted his head on the blanket and gazed over at his girlfriend.

"My harp is in my bedroom so you'd have to see it there."

"Amy, I'd really like to see your harp." Sheldon said softly, and Amy suddenly knew that they were no longer just talking about harps. She nodded slowly and Sheldon's face dissolved into a melting smile as he raised hands to his lips, brushing a tender kiss to the back of her knuckles. "We'd better head back if we're going to be taking off early tonight. I've got a couple of things I need to finish off this afternoon, will you text me when you're ready to leave?"

"Of course." Amy nodded and Sheldon reluctantly let go of her hand as he rolled to his feet, packing up the remains of their lunch and storing it in the picnic basket. They shook out the blanket and Sheldon draped it over his arm as hand in hand they left their little piece of paradise behind.


	8. Chapter 8

Sheldon stored the picnic basket under his desk and pulled out his wallet to check how much cash he had on him. He muttered under his breath as he slid the wallet into his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You can do this Cooper, thousands of other men are doing the exact same thing all over the world." He straightened his shoulders and got halfway to the door before he had to stop, bending over double and placing his head between his knees. "Oh God, I can't do this, who am I trying to kid?" Sheldon felt his heart pounding and pressed a hand against his chest, feeling sure it was about to burst through. "Get a grip!" He ordered himself sternly and rose to his feet, taking in deep calming breaths. "I am the master of my own body." He chanted, trying to use the Vulcan art of meditation to get him through. After several long minutes he felt calm enough to actually open the door.

"Brenda, I'm just heading across the street for a while; I won't be long." Sheldon's voice cracked a little as he stopped by the administration desk on his way out and the secretary nodded without looking up.

"Don't forget you have a meeting with President Siebert at two, Doctor Cooper."

"I'd forgotten that…Oh, I'll be back in plenty of time…And Brenda, please contact Dr Gablehauser and inform him that I need to leave earlier than usual this afternoon and that there is a chance I may not make it in at my normal time tomorrow." Sheldon walked to the main entrance, and paused as his hand reached up to touch the handle. Brenda caught his hesitation out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see his lips moving but no discernible sounds coming out.

"Certainly, Doctor Cooper…nothing wrong I hope?" Brenda made a note on her jotter and gazed over at Sheldon in concern. Sheldon gave her a weak smile from the doorway and she could see the small beads of sweat forming on his upper lip as his trembling fingers reached out to push the door wider.

"Everything's fine….just fine." Sheldon stepped through the door and Brenda heard him mutter to himself as he strode determinedly away. "Come on, Cooper you can do it. Just go over there and get it over with…" Brenda shook her head worriedly, Doctor Cooper was acting a little out of character; he never usually admitted to forgetting anything and he certainly did not go around sweating and talking to himself. She picked up the phone and called through to Gablehauser's office and spoke to his personal assistant.

"Dorothy, it's Brenda at the front desk. Could you tell him that Doctor Cooper needs to leave early today and might not be in tomorrow first thing?"

"_Oh dear, what is it this time? Has his finger got pinched in the stapler again and he's convinced that it's got gangrene?"_ Dorothy gave a sigh, pen poised to take down the details of yet another tale of the suffering hypochondriac.

"Dot…I think he's really sick this time! I've never seen him like this before!" Brenda's usual matter of fact tone was missing, her voice pitched higher than normal and that alone gave Dorothy reason to believe that maybe this time there was something real going on with the enigmatic doctor.

_"Okay, settle down. I'll leave a note on his desk so that he sees it when he gets back from lunch. Maybe we'd better cancel the meeting with the President this afternoon if Doctor Cooper's not feeling up to it. I'll mention that in the note and you tell Doctor Cooper to take off as soon as he needs to."_

"Thanks, Dot. I'll keep an eye out for him; he's just popped across the street. I think he might be going to the drugstore…doesn't he usually get one of his friends to take him straight to emergency?"

_"Perhaps he's trying to deal with it on his own this time, anyway I've gotta go Brenda. Talk to you soon."_

"Yeah, bye Dot and thanks again." Brenda replaced the receiver and tapped her fingers nervously against it as she waited for Doctor Cooper's return. He finally came back fifteen minutes later, clutching a paper bag to his chest and holding tightly to a carrier from the department store with his other hand. His face was much paler than when he left and Brenda rushed around the desk, convinced he was about to pass out.

"Oh, Doctor Cooper! Do sit down, you look positively dreadful! May I fetch you a glass of water?" Brenda hovered around Sheldon and he blinked up at her, not quite knowing what she was fussing about.

"Um, no…I'm fine, really. It was just a little warm outside and I felt a little faint as I came back into the air conditioned building. I'd better get these things back to my office if I'm to meet the President at two." Sheldon was about to walk around the hovering secretary when she suddenly placed a hand on his arm to prevent him from moving.

"Doctor Gablehauser cancelled today's meeting; he said he would re-schedule for next week sometime. Oh, and I also cleared your leaving early today and a late start for tomorrow; you're free to leave whenever you feel appropriate."

"Thank you, Brenda…I'll be going to my office now …" Sheldon waved his arm toward his office, forgetting the paper sack from the drugstore was still clutched to his chest and narrowly prevented the contents from spilling over the top. He scampered off down the hallway, still muttering under his breath. "Nice going, Cooper…first the drugstore and now the university, how many other people are gonna think you're an imbecile today?"

Sheldon reached his office and made sure his office door was closed firmly behind him as he started taking out everything from the two bags and placing them inside his messenger bag. The sides were bulging out by the time he'd slid his laptop in as well, now all he had to do was to wait for Amy to contact him. The minutes seemed like hours, but in actual fact it was only fifteen when the text he had been waiting for came through.

**Just about to slip on my jacket, meet me in the south parking lot in five…AFF**

**On my way. SLC**

Sheldon checked that he hadn't missed anything and when he was satisfied fired off a quick text to Leonard informing him that his ride home would not be required. Sliding his phone into the pocket of his pants, Sheldon shouldered his messenger bag and left out of the side door, loping down the green lawn to join his girlfriend at her car.


End file.
